Science. New Russian docking unit on the space station

Madrid, 26 (European Press)

Roscosmos reported on its Twitter account that the new Prichal docking module had successfully docked on November 26 on the Russian part of the International Space Station.

With this new Russian docking unit in place, the Russian Space Agency explained, more crews and cargo spacecraft can connect to the orbital complex as new research and other opportunities emerge.

Prichal is a nodal unit having a compact ball-shaped design with six hybrid docking ports. It also has functional components located both outside and inside. The interior of the unit is divided into two zones: habitable and functional with on-board systems. One of the six ports is active for docking with the space station, while the remaining five ports are passive, allowing other spacecraft to dock with the unit.

According to Wikipedia, this design is significantly different from the Pirs and Poisk docking units that have only one spaceship docking port each. In addition, the port corresponding to the origin will support the automated transfer of defenses between the docked Russian spacecraft and the space station in both directions, and the automated docking of manned and unmanned spacecraft using the KURS-NA system. The internal mooring compartment has a volume of 19 cubic meters, a length of 4.91 meters and a diameter of 2.55 meters.

Prichal was transported aboard a Progress-class motorized cargo ship, which took off on November 24 from Baikonur. The mission also delivered about 700 kg of goods to the station: equipment and consumables, means for water purification, medical and health monitoring equipment, maintenance and repair tools, as well as food rations.